Algae

[Partsman41953]

I too am having an algae problem. The problem started with green hair algae and now since moving the tank into my kitchen so the sun would not shine directly into it, now I have a combination of red slime and hair algae. When I moved the tank I emptied all 28 gallons, cleaned the rock, and partially cleaned the sand, not to take the good bacteria out of it. After a week the green algae has come back followed by the red slime. The red slime was not there before and is not bad but the green algae is a nightmare. I would like to put corals in the tank but I am holding off until the algae problem is controlled.

I feed my fish granuals and only once a day. The lights are T5 lights which are only on for 7 hours a day. I only use mixed salt water which I purchase at a local fish store.

I do my water changes as I am suppose to. My water parameters are good and I do not know what else to do. I could load my tank with snails but i would really like to know how to cure the problem.

One thing I did notice was right after I moved the tank and some of the green algae came back I noticed that one of my clown fish started getting fin rot so I put some Maracyn in the tank for a week which cured him and got rid of the algae until I did my water change again.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

Algae control is sometimes like chasing yourself.

There are other threads on the subject if you search this and other forums.

The red slime is an indication of low circulation. Red slime microbes don't like water circulation and do best when water flow is low. That can be overcome usually just by increasing water circulation and making sure there are no 'dead spots' in any area of the display tank.

Hair algae grows when it gets the nutrients it needs to do so. Hobbyists don't have test kits to test for everything these life forms live on. However, they enjoy phosphates, nitrates, several kinds of organic chemicals as well as trace elements.

One thing that you are feeding them is the wheat and wheat products found in pellets. Fish don't digest wheat and that goes through their system and into your tank to feed the microbes. Stop feeding pellets and flake foods. Feed only seafoods and preferably frozen. Start reading up on proper nutrition:
Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

You also want to get a bigger picture on just what 'good water quality' means. I suggest you read this: What is Water Quality.

One of the biggest things that these nuisance microbes love is when the tank has too much of a bio-load. Since you didn't list ALL your fish and nitrogen waste producing marine life forms, this could be one problem -- overstocking.

You don't mention how you are handling organics in the tank. Are you using a protein skimmer? a carbon filter? or both? or ?

After physically removing all signs of algae, then you want to measure phosphates and nitrates. While the algae is growing, it is likely taking up those nutrients so you think they are 'none detected' or 'under control.'

I do my water changes as I am suppose to.

This is a bit worrisome. How can I tell if they are the right water changes? May need larger changes more frequently to keep up with the water pollution for that system.

Your work is cut out for you. Read, read, and read. Then start taking one thing at a time and correcting it or optimizing it. If you want a general comparison of how your system should be setup, read through this post, even if you have a marine system in operation:
Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Once all details are investigated, corrected, and the tank running lean on nutrients, THEN remove all algae physically and put in snails. When all other factors and conditions are optimized, a small group of snails will take care of the rest.

[Partsman41953]

The fish that I have in my tank are two clown fish and a yellow wrasp. I use a hand on filter with carbon and a Fluval filter that uses carbon. I feed just granual food once a day. It seem that the red slime is on the rock that is right under the hand on filter and the water is running right down on the rock. It seems that the hair algae is mostly on the rock in the front part of the tank.

I hope this helps.

If there is anything that I could do without loading the tank with a lot of snails etc., please let me know. I do have some snails in the tank but a lot have died in the past year but I have had this problem ever since I have had this tank running which is 2 years.

[leebca]

You have touched on the tip of the iceberg. How much carbon is in there? How often do you change the carbon? You are definitely not feeding your fishes properly nor are they being fed enough. A hang on filter usually doesn't create much in the way of circulation. How much water do it process in one hour? How much water does the Fluval process each hour? You'll find the proper answers in the reference links I provided. There is a minimum turnover rate you have to target to have 'proper circulation.'

You don't mention the kind of Anemonefish you have, however a pair in the 29 is usually going to overstock the aquarium as they grow. If they aren't growing, then it is another indication they are not being fed properly. Any more fish than the two Anemonefish will definitely be an overstocked aquarium.

No mention yet of water change quantity nor frequency. You still have things to read about and investigate.